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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: cue · bear · chest · charge · race · content · fork · drill

  1. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  10. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. The tickets are free of ________________.
  24. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. cue — a hint
  3. chest — a box
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. drill — army training
  6. chest — of your body
  7. content — happy
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. charge — in control
  10. charge — electricity
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. content — the amount
  13. bear — the animal
  14. bear — the animal
  15. cue — for pool
  16. drill — a practice
  17. race — a contest
  18. race — the arms race
  19. fork — in a road
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. chest — of your body
  22. race — humankind
  23. charge — a price
  24. cue — a signal

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com